


Learn to Love You

by alcego



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Confessions, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I cannot possibly express how much I love the headcanon that Yuppers hate Keith on sight, Injury, Like, M/M, and Lance doesn't get it bc they're literally alien puppies, and he tells Lance they've got it out for him, and they love him, angst then fluff, anywho, but Lance insists he must've done smth to piss them off, but they hate Keith, i love these boys, is that... a Grinch reference??, it's pure gold to me, like Lance, lmao sorry for the story in the tags, they actually hate him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-03
Updated: 2017-06-03
Packaged: 2018-11-08 11:43:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11080881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alcego/pseuds/alcego
Summary: They've never had an easy dynamic, but they're learning each other. It's not a perfect relationship; they still fight and argue, but they've learned to apologize, to live and let live. They're growing.





	Learn to Love You

**Author's Note:**

> This was literally supposed to be a quick warmup. Idk what happened but hey, I hope you enjoy.
> 
> (And [Alyssa](https://alienslovetea.tumblr.com), without you this would never have happened. Thank you so much.)

“How the hell do you manage to piss off a freaking Yupper? They’re literally alien puppies!” Lance complained loudly as he fumbled through the first aid kit with his one good arm. A roll of gauze fell onto the table and Lance cursed, quickly reaching over to grab it. A small whine escaped him as the motion pulled on his injured side. He’d probably cracked a rib when he pushed Keith out of the way…

Keith shoved his hands into his armpits and glared at Lance. “I don’t see how you can still defend that thing- it literally tried to disembowel you!” he shouted the last part, pointing to the cut that spread from just under Lance’s left arm all the way to the middle of his side. It was a nasty thing, much worse than any of the scrapes Keith had taken from the fight, and suddenly Keith wondered why Lance was the one digging through the first aid kit. “You’re hurt…” he said softly.

Lance kept his gaze fixed firmly on the gauze in his hand. “Just sit down and let me take care of you.” It was barely even a whisper, but it tore Keith’s heart to pieces nonetheless. How could he resist that voice?

Keith sat in the chair next to where Lance stood, eyes fixed straight ahead as he struggled to get his racing thoughts under control. Why was Lance so determined to be the one taking care of him? Couldn’t he see that Keith was barely even injured, especially compared to him? Keith took a deep breath. “Let me take care of you next.” It wasn’t a question but a plea for reassurance; Keith needed to know that Lance would be okay, if not now then soon. Surely he could understand that?

“Of course,” Lance agreed, deftly unzipping the back of Keith’s paladin suit and dabbing alien disinfectant onto the scrapes covering Keith’s skin. Keith hissed when the burning became too much, only to be shocked into silence when Lance’s hand stopped its ministrations to squeeze his hand comfortingly. Keith realized that he’d been squeezing the table’s edge hard enough that his knuckles had gone white- Lance must have noticed.

Keith watched with a curious fascination as Lance quickly dressed his wounds, moving with an ease that only came from practice. That was definitely something they’d been getting plenty of since coming to space.

As soon as the last bandage was applied Keith was turning in his seat to get a better look at Lance’s side. “Sit,” Keith ordered, gesturing to the chair directly beside his own.

“Oh sure, boss the injured dude around,” Lance griped playfully, flicking Keith’s arm as he gingerly arranged himself in the chair so that Keith would have easy access to both the first aid kit on the table and to Lance’s injury.

Keith grimaced as he got a closer look at the cut. “I’m still not sure that this doesn’t need a healing pod.” They’d been arguing about that on the way back from their aborted mission to a planet of Yuppers, and now that Keith was able to see the damage up close he was much more hesitant to keep Lance out of the often-needed Altean tech. “It needs stitches at the very least.”

Lance grimaced. His good hand fidgeted with the torn edge of his suit and his right leg began bouncing with energy that Keith knew came from brewing anxiety. Still, this was Lance he was looking at, so it didn’t come as a surprise when his eyes locked with Keith’s and he smirked. “What, don’t think you can do it?”

“That’s not it and you know it,” he retorted hotly, already standing to unzip Lance’s suit. Careful not to disturb the cut, Keith pulled it over Lance’s shoulder until his entire torso was bare. They made eye contact, and Keith was briefly reminded of the first time he’d pulled Lance’s suit off like this...

He turned to dig through the first aid kit, quickly locating the same disinfectant that Lance had used earlier along with bandages and a package containing the necessary equipment and meds and whatnot for giving someone stitches. There was a good two inch portion of the cut that Keith was sure needed stitches, though he wasn’t looking forward to laying Lance down simply to piece his side back together. Necessary supplies gathered, Keith looked back up to Lance’s face, which had lost much of its rich color. “Ready?”

Lance nodded, lips pursed as he prepared for the coming burn of disinfectant. Keith knew all too well that this was nothing like ripping a bandaid off, so he was careful not to go too fast lest he overwhelm Lance with the sensation and send him into shock. Maintaining a precarious balance between too fast and too slow was similar to flying, Keith thought. You could read up on it for years, but without good instincts it was useless.

Clearly Lance agreed with him. “Christ, Keith- fucking hell man could you at least _try_ not to stretch this- _ow_ -out?” he hissed, gripping the arm of the chair so tight that the color rushed from his hand.

“I’m sorry!” Keith scowled at Lance’s injured side as if it had personally wronged him. “You know I’m not as good at this stuff as you are.”

“No kidding,” Lance gritted out, gripping the chair a little tighter when Keith accidentally squeezed too much disinfectant into the wound. “Are you even trying?”

Keith pulled away, huffing as he grabbed fresh gauze and wetted it with disinfectant. “Really want to pick a fight right now?”

Lance groaned. “Sorry! It just- _ow!”_ he shouted in surprise as Keith resumed cleaning the wound. “A little warning would be nice!”

Keith scowled and muttered,  “Heads up.”

“Not helpful after the fact dude.”

Keith rolled his eyes but continued swabbing the cut. He’s trying, okay? It’s not his fault that he absolutely sucks at this one thing that he actually needed to be able to do well.

“Dude!” Lance gasped, his hand slipping from the arm of the chair to grab Keith’s wrist. “Fuck- you don’t need to press down so hard, or at all really.”

Keith grimaced. “I’m sorry. I just- I really suck at this, okay? It doesn’t come easy to me like it does for you.” He pulled his hand from Lance’s grasp, dropping it back down to his knees as he took a calming breath.

A warm hand pressed against his cheek, and Keith leaned into it, seeking the comfort of touch that he hadn’t realized he needed. They just… sat for a while. Just Lance resting his hand on Keith’s cheek and Keith soaking it in. It was quiet and soft, peaceful even. Slowly Keith felt himself relax.

“I’m sorry,” Lance murmured, “I know you’re trying- it just hurts.”

Keith’s heart swelled, and he shifted to look at Lance. “I’m sorry too,” he said softly, pressing his lips to Lance’s hand. Warmth flooded him as they shared a fond smile, and the words left before Keith could stop them, “I love you, you know.”

He could feel his heart skip a beat, knew that his face had flushed that particular shade of red that came only from embarrassment, but he didn’t take it back, didn’t backtrack like his mind screamed for him to do. Because he did. He’d never given the feeling a name before, but, if it had to have one, this would be it. _Love._

Lance stilled, his hand suddenly stiff against Keith’s face. He didn’t say anything. Just stared at Keith, whose heart was racing for entirely new reasons than before. Then his face was engulfed by the light of his blinding grin and he pulled Keith into a hug without any thought for his injuries. “ _Keith,_ ” he breathed the word into the top of Keith’s head. “I love you too-” he laughed and threaded his fingers through Keith’s hair. “Let me just tell you that this was _not_ how I imagined saying this.”

And now Keith was grinning too, his heart grown three sizes too large and so full of warmth that he could feel it building behind his eyes. This wasn’t a feeling he was used to, not one that he’d experienced often in his childhood, but with Lance it was constant. It was something that he could get used to.

He felt Lance smirk-grinning into his hair and then, just like that, the moment was shattered. “Oh my god are you _crying?_ ”

“Shut up.” Keith pulled away, wiping his eyes on his arm and pointedly avoiding looking at Lance. “Let’s get you stitched up.”

And that, friends, is how Keith confessed his love to his extraordinarily ridiculous partner.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I just- let me just say that this fic right here embodies why I love Klance. To me their relationship is one of growth. Just the fact that they're literally polar opposites but so similar at the same time means that they're going to clash pretty spectacularly, so no matter whether you ship them romantically or platonically just know that they had to grow into that relationship like many of us do. And I love that. So much.
> 
>  
> 
> [I have a tumblr!](https://alcego.tumblr.com)


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